The Death of Mrs. Westaway
(Libby/OverDrive eBook, Kindle)

*Starred Review* Hal hasn't had it easy in the three years since her mother died. She's dropped out of school and taken over her mother's tarot booth on Brighton Pier, but there was never much to be made from that. Now interest on the money from a loan shark has grown to an impossible amount, and he's threatening to break her bones. So when a letter arrives on creamy stationery from a lawyer in Penzance saying she's an heir to her grandmother's fortune, Hal goes to claim it, even though she knows he has the wrong person. Yet once at Trepassen House, things take an odd turn; a photograph shows she does have connections to the family. Finding the truth, however, turns into a very dangerous enterprise indeed. Ware, who, with a run of acclaimed thrillers, including The Lying Game (2017), has established herself as one of today's most popular suspense writers, twists the knife quite expertly here. Her clues tease readers, making them think they know what will happen next, and they do up to a point. The labyrinth Ware has devised here is much more winding than expected, with reveals even on the final pages. The plotting is not completely seamless, but that is more than made up for by a clever heroine and an atmospheric setting, accented by wisps of meaning that drift from the tarot cards.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2018 Booklist

In this tense, twisty modern gothic set in England from bestseller Ware (The Lying Game), Harriet "Hal" Westaway receives a letter stating that her grandmother, Hester Westaway, is dead, and that Hal is a beneficiary of her will. Hal knows there's been a mistake-her grandmother was named Marion Westaway and died two decades earlier-but the 21-year-old orphan owes a lot of money to some dangerous people, feels comfortable stealing a small sum from wealthy strangers, and decides to use the skills she's honed as a fortune teller on Brighton's West Pier to scam some quick cash. But when she arrives at the crumbling family estate in Cornwall, neither the inheritance nor the Westaways are what she expects. Moreover, she begins to suspect that her invitation was no accident. Is Hal playing the Westaways, or is she somebody's pawn? Evocative prose, artfully shaded characters, and a creepy, claustrophobic atmosphere keep the pages of this explosive family drama turning. Agent: Eve White, Eve White Literary (U.K.). (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Grieving for her mother and barely subsisting (financially or emotionally) as a tarot card reader in Brighton, 21-year-old Harriet "Hal" Westaway is jolted from her three-year melancholy to a panic state by two urgent messages: a threat from a loan shark and news of a recently deceased grandmother's bequest. Alas, family records confirm long-dead Marion-not vastly wealthy Hester-as her grandmother, but Hal, reasoning that she was invited and her plight is desperate, resolves to join the "other" Westaways at stately Trepassen Hall to ply her formidable people-reading skills, gather data, and forge inheritance paperwork. Masterfully pacing revelations of a much darker family legacy now entangling Hal, Ware (The Lying Game) credits the endearing Hal with natural perceptiveness and grit born of adversity: she is not the first Westaway to counterfeit identity for survival's sake. Adept at imparting both dread-Trepassen's surly shades-of-Rebecca housekeeper, the debt collector's malevolent goon-and charm, Imogen Church lends a rapt, compelling delivery and rich vocal tone complementing the classically atmospheric backdrop, which includes drawing-room confrontations, wheeling magpies, and locked-from-outside attic doors. VERDICT Superbly crafted, Ware's twisty tale will captivate her followers, fans of Eve Chase's Black Rabbit Hall, and seekers of character-driven mysteries. Enthusiastically recommended. ["Ware's fourth novel is her best yet, with steadily increasing tension, a complicated...mystery, and a sharp, sympathetic heroine who's up to the challenge of solving it": LJ Xpress Reviews 4/20/18 starred review of the Scout: Gallery hc.]-Linda Sappenfield, Round Rock P.L., TX © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

A young woman receives notice of a mysterious bequest. Is it a case of mistaken identity, or will it reveal some truth about her family?In Ware's (The Lying Game, 2017, etc.) fourth novel in as many years, Harriet "Hal" Westaway is barely making ends meet as a tarot reader on the Brighton Pier. Her mother died in a hit-and-run several years before, and in her grief, Hal has drifted into a solitary and impecunious life. Worse still, she's under threat from a loan shark who's come to collect the interest on an earlier debt. So when she receives a letter saying she's been named in the will of, possibly, an unknown grandmother, she decides to travel to Cornwall, despite fearing that it's probably all a mistake. There she meets several possible uncles and a creepy old housekeeper right out of a Daphne du Maurier novel, all against the backdrop of a run-down mansion. As Hal desperately tries to keep up her charade of belonging to the family, she realizes that the malevolent atmosphere of Trepassen House has strong roots in the past, when a young girl came to live there, fell in love, and was imprisoned in her bedroom. Hal just has to figure out exactly who this girl waswithout getting herself killed. Ware continues to hone her gift for the slow unspooling of unease and mystery, developing a consistent sense of threat that's pervasive and gripping. She uses tarot readings to hint at the supernatural, but at its heart, this is a very human mystery. The isolation of Trepassen House, its magpies, and its anachronistic housekeeper cultivate a dull sense of horror. Ware's novels continue to evoke comparison to Agatha Christie; they certainly have that classic flavor despite the contemporary settings.Expertly paced, expertly crafted. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

*Starred Review* Hal hasn't had it easy in the three years since her mother died. She's dropped out of school and taken over her mother's tarot booth on Brighton Pier, but there was never much to be made from that. Now interest on the money from a loan shark has grown to an impossible amount, and he's threatening to break her bones. So when a letter arrives on creamy stationery from a lawyer in Penzance saying she's an heir to her grandmother's fortune, Hal goes to claim it, even though she knows he has the wrong person. Yet once at Trepassen House, things take an odd turn; a photograph shows she does have connections to the family. Finding the truth, however, turns into a very dangerous enterprise indeed. Ware, who, with a run of acclaimed thrillers, including The Lying Game (2017), has established herself as one of today's most popular suspense writers, twists the knife quite expertly here. Her clues tease readers, making them think they know what will happen next, and they do—up to a point. The labyrinth Ware has devised here is much more winding than expected, with reveals even on the final pages. The plotting is not completely seamless, but that is more than made up for by a clever heroine and an atmospheric setting, accented by wisps of meaning that drift from the tarot cards. Copyright 2018 Booklist Reviews.

Since blasting onto the scene with In a Dark, Dark Wood, Ware has come up with some pretty intriguing premises, and this sounds no different. Protagonist Hal quickly realizes that a letter she's received about a big inheritance was misdirected and just as quickly realizes that certain skills she has developed as a tarot card reader can help her claim it anyway. But at the deceased's funeral, she gets the sense that there's something really off about this death.

Harriet "Hal" Westaway is barely holding it together. After her mother's death, Hal took over her fortune-telling stall on the Brighton Pier. But a loan she received at a particularly low point has come due, and the men out to collect on it don't care that she doesn't have the money; their threats have Hal looking over her shoulder and fearing for her safety. So when a letter arrives informing her that she's a beneficiary in her grandmother's will—a letter she knows is a mistake: her grandparents have been dead for years—Hal puts her people-reading skills to good use to try to get the money and the loan sharks off her back. But everything at Trepassen House seems deeply off, from the inexplicably hostile elderly housekeeper to the strange relationships among her "uncles" to the room where she sleeps only locking from the outside. And then there are the unexpected terms of the will…. Ware's fourth novel (after The Lying Game) is her best yet, with steadily increasing tension, a complicated twisty mystery, and a sharp, sympathetic heroine who's up to the challenge of solving it. Verdict Recommend to fans of the author and readers who love immersing themselves in well-crafted, gothic-tinged suspense. [See Prepub Alert, 11/6/17; a May LibraryReads Pick.—Ed.]—Stephanie Klose, Library Journal (c) Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

In this tense, twisty modern gothic set in England from bestseller Ware (The Lying Game), Harriet "Hal" Westaway receives a letter stating that her grandmother, Hester Westaway, is dead, and that Hal is a beneficiary of her will. Hal knows there's been a mistake—her grandmother was named Marion Westaway and died two decades earlier—but the 21-year-old orphan owes a lot of money to some dangerous people, feels comfortable stealing a small sum from wealthy strangers, and decides to use the skills she's honed as a fortune teller on Brighton's West Pier to scam some quick cash. But when she arrives at the crumbling family estate in Cornwall, neither the inheritance nor the Westaways are what she expects. Moreover, she begins to suspect that her invitation was no accident. Is Hal playing the Westaways, or is she somebody's pawn? Evocative prose, artfully shaded characters, and a creepy, claustrophobic atmosphere keep the pages of this explosive family drama turning. Agent: Eve White, Eve White Literary (U.K.). (May)